EP0153306B1

EP0153306B1 - Improvements in applicator bottles

Info

Publication number: EP0153306B1
Application number: EP83902775A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vahram Victor Vartoughian
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-03-23
Filing date: 1983-08-05
Publication date: 1990-02-28
Also published as: US4447169A; EP0153306A1; AU1941283A; WO1985000732A1; EP0153306A4

Abstract

An improved applicator brush (23) and bottle (11) for dispensing polish, base, or top coats, for nails or the like. A major problem with prior devices is that the brush (23) would dry out. The improved device includes a brush (23) mounted on a reversible closure (24). The cap (13) seals the brush (23) from the atmosphere at member (12) and also seals on the bottle. The cap (13) can additionally be used as an extension of the bottle to provide a handle. This is accomplished by inserting the cap (13) into a cavity at the rear of the bottle (11).

Description

The invention relates to applicator dispensers.
Automatic applicators are used to dispense fluids from a brush. There fluids can dry out when exposed to the atmosphere.
Many dispenser bottles have been suggested over the years for dispensing various types of fluids, such as glues, solvents, nail polish, nail coatings, etc. Much effort has been made to prevent the fluids, which are applied by a brush, from drying out during periods of non-use. Further, such bottles drip fluids resulting in a messy application. In these prior art bottles, when atmospheric air entered the bottle, it dried out the brush and fluid channel such that fluid flow was restricted. US Patent Specification No. 28 32 981 discloses on adhesive applicator dispenser having a squeezable body portion having a neck at one end thereof.
A brush having a shank is secured to brush holder which is screwthreadably screwable to the neck both with the brush upstanding and depending. A cap covers the brush holder.
A disadvantage of this arrangement is that when the cap is removed it tends to become lost and so the contents of the applicator dispenser will dry out. Also the brush is mounted on a shank which is frictionally held in the brush holder. If the shank becomes loosened it and the brush will drop into the fluid in the container and be extremely difficult to retrieve. It is an object of the invention to provide an improved applicator dispenser.
According to the present invention there is provided an applicator dispenser for dispensing a liquid, the applicator dispenser comprising a squeezable body portion having an open neck at one end thereof, a brush having a shank, a plurality of bristles mounted at one end of the shank, and a passage way leading from said bristles at one end of the shank to an opening at the opposite end of the shank, and a cap to enclose the exposed end of the shank, characterised in that the shank of said brush includes a flange to abut the neck and so limit the penetration of the shank into the neck, and a bulbous portion for releasably and engageably fitting into said neck, and in that said cap is so provided that in one position it can screw threadedly engage the neck or the shank to bring the cap into sealing engagement with a profiled portion of the shank located in a position between the portion of screwthreaded engagement and the bristles whereby to provide a fluid tight seal to a chamber defined between a portion of the brush projecting from the neck and the interior of the cap and in another position it can frictionally engage the body portion at an end remote from the neck to extend the length of the body portion.
Applicator dispensers embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of an automatic applicator bottle in accordance with the teachings of my invention;
Fig. 2 is a view taken along lines II-II of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a view taken along lines III-III of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a vertical view showing the brush of Fig. 1 inserted into the neck of the bottle;
Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the cap of Fig. 1 inserted onto the bottle;
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the cap used as a handle;
Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the brush with the bristles thereof inserted into the interior of the bottle;
Fig. 8 is a detailed view of a portion of the assembly of Fig. 4 showing a ball entering the neck of the bottle;
Fig. 9 is a view taken along lines IX-IX of Fig. 6 showing a modification of the brush of Fig. 1;
Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing another modification of the brush of Fig. 1 with a modified cap thereon;
Fig. 11 is a vertical view, partly in section, of another modification of the brush of Fig. 1 with a modified cap therein;
Fig. 12 is a view taken along lines XII-XII of Fig. 11; and
Fig. 13 is an exploded view of a modified cap and brush of the invention.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the invention, an exploded view of an automatic applicator bottle 10 in accordance with the teachings of my invention is shown. Bottle 10 includes a main bottle body portion 11, adapted to contain therein a suitable fluid, an insertable and removable brush 12 and cap 13. Bottle body portion 11 is preferably of a flexible transparent plastic material and, depending on the fluids dispensed from bottle 10, may be resistant to such fluids. For example, although dispenser 10 may be used to dispense any suitable fluids, such as glues, solvents, paints, etc., it is particularly useful in the dispensing of nail polish, nail base coatings, nail top coatings, etc. used in nail manicuring. Thus, at least portion 14 of bottle body portion 11 is of a squeezable material, for reasons to be discussed, and may be thin-walled at wall 15 as shown in cross-section. It may also be of acetone-resistant material. A cavity 16 (see also Fig. 2) is provided in the bottom of main body portion 11 for reasons to be discussed.
A threaded neck 17 is provided at the top of main body portion 11 opening into the interior of lower portion 14. Threads 18 are adapted to mate with like threads 19 on the inner wall 20 of cap 13. A tapered section (shoulder) 21 extends from neck 17 to the lower body portion 14 and is at an angle X of about 45% for reasons to be discussed.
Cap 13 may also be of a suitable material similar to that of body portion 11 and further preferably includes a solid portion 21 in the interior at the top forming an internal cavity 22, curved or angled as shown.
Brush 12 is comprised of a plurality of bristles 23 insertible in a main body portion 24. Body portion 24 includes a first tapered portion 25, into which bristles 23 are inserted in any suitable manner, and retained therein, leading to a first rounded or bulbous portion 26. Bulbous portion 26 leads to a first cylindrical section 27 which in turn is coupled to a second rounded or bulbous portion 28. Second bulbous portion 28 leads to a second cylindrical section 29, smaller in diameter than section 27, which is split as will be discussed.
As can be seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in solid lines in Fig. 3, a passageway 30 extends from bristles 23 to the terminal end of section 29. Also, as can be seen in Fig. 3, section 29 has a diametrical slit 31 (see also Fig. 1). Optionally, a second slit 32 may be provided for reasons to be discussed.
The outer tapered or peripheral surface of first and second bulbous portions 26, 28 are generally related to the curvature or taper of surface 22 on the interior of cap 13. That is, such surfaces may all have a substantially 45° taper or curvature.
As shown in Fig. 4, brush 12 can be inserted into the open neck 17 of main body portion 11 by inserting portions 28 and 29 therein. The flange or portion 33 of cylindrical portion 24 (Fig. 1) acts as a stop. The distance b (Fig. 4) is related to the distance a (Fig. 1) of cap 13 so that the cap 13 can be threaded over brush 12 onto main body portion 11 with first bulbous portion 26 abutting against and conforming to surface 22 of cap 13. This is shown in Fig. 5 and it can be seen that a tight seal is provided between portion 26 and surface 22. In addition, the end cap 34 of cap 1 abuts against the tapered portion 21 of main body portion 11 also providing a tight seal. In this manner, cap 13 can be placed over brush 12, with brush 12 left in position for application, without air entering therein and drying out the brush bristles 23. Passageway 30 permits fluid in main body portion 11 to flow through brush 12 onto bristles 23. If desired, threads 18 may be eliminated and like threads provided on section 27, the location of threads 19 on cap 13 being adjusted accordingly.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, when the bottle 10 is in the Fig. 5 position, the cap 13 can be removed and inserted into the bottom of main body portion 11. That is, cap 13 is preferable cylindrical in cross-section and friction fits into opening or cavity 16 (which is of like cross-section) in the bottom of portion 11. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6, cap 13 is now an extension or handle portion from main bottle body portion 11 and provides an excellent means for holding bottle 10 while nail polish or the like is applied from bristles.
After use of bottle 10, when it is anticipated that brush 12 won't be use for a while, brush 12 can be grasped at cylindrical portion 27 and pulled out of neck 17 and reinserted with bristles 23 in the interior of main body portion 11. This is shown in Fig. 7. When cap 13 is inserted over brush 12, bulbous surface 28 engages and mates with inner surface 22 of cap 13 to again provide a tight fit. The final assembly is similar to that of Fig. 5 with bristles extending into the interior of bottle 10.
Many bottles of the type for which the improvements disclosed herein generally have a small ball or the like in the liquid or fluid to agitate the same when the bottle is shaken. The split end 29, as seen in Fig. 4, prevents the ball, when it enters neck 17 as the dispenser 10 is inverted for application, from stopping fluid flow. This is illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein ball 35 is shown as abutting against the bottom of split end 29 but fluid can flow around ball 35 and enter passageway 30 through slit 31.
The optional slit 32 in Fig. 3, may be used as a keyway to orient the brush 12 during assembly. For example, in manufacturing bottle 10, brush 12 is held upright and bristles 23 inserted into end 25. If a like key is provided in the manufacturing process, receivable in keyway or slit 32, the brush 12 may be keyed in a desired orientation for automatic insertion of the bristles 23.
Figure 9 is a modification of the bristles 23 of Figs. 1-8. In Fig. 9, bristles 23 may surround a central opening 36 in tip or end 25 which is in fluid communication with passageway 30. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 10, a side chamber 37 or opening may be provided in tip or end 25 also communicating with passageway 30.
Another embodiment is shown in Fig. 11 wherein brush 38 is otherwise similar to brush 12 but includes an enlarged passageway 39 receiving therein a spiral 40 having bristles 41 secured therein. A protuberance 42 is provided on the inner wall of passageway 39 and enters spacing between the spirals of spiral 40 as shown to hold the bristles 41 firmly therein. Bulbous portion 26 of Fig. 1 is replaced by a tapered portion 43, which may conform to cavity 22 of cap 13 of Fig. 1, and may be externally threaded, at threads 44, for engaging threads 19 on cap 13. Split end 29 may be eliminated by providing a slit 45 in bulbous end 46, which extends a short distance up end 46, to permit fluid to circulate therethrough and up passageway 30.
Fig. 13 shows a modification of brush 12 of Fig. 1 wherein brush 47 has a conically shaped tip 48 leading to an annular flange 48. A tapered insert portion 50 extends from flange 49 and portion 50 is insertible into neck 17 of the main body portion 11 of the bottle of Fig. 1, flange 48 acting as a stop. Bristles 5, are retained in tip 48 in any suitable manner. As seen in dotted lines in Fig. 13, an inverted cone 52 is provided on the upper inner wall 53 of tip 48. This cone 52 prevents a ball, such as ball 35 of Fig. 8, from closing off the openings surrounding the base of cone 52 communicating with bristles 51 and controls fluid flow. Also, cap 54 may include a tapered inner surface 55 conforming to the taper of tip 48 to provide an airtight seal as previously discussed. Cap 54 may also be provided with a lower inner surface 56 conforming to surface 21 (Fig. 1) of bottle body portion 11. This provides a more effective seal. Of course, the lower end of cap 13 may be similarly formed, if desired.
Any suitable bristles may be used and inserted into the respective brush in any suitable manner. For example, bristles are known in the art which are V-shaped and a plurality are retained at the intersection of the V by an inverted staple. When the staple is inserted into the brush top, the staple retains the bristles therein.
It can be seen from the foregoing that I have disclosed improvements in automatic applicator bottles which can be squeezed to dispense fluids automatically, such as nail polish, onto brush bristles, eliminates drying of the bristles of a brush, prevents dripping, provides good fluid flow and permits the cap to serve a double function, i.e., as both a closure and as a handle. The configuration of the brush body portion prevents fluids from dripping onto the threads of the bottle body portion.

Claims

1. An applicator dispenser for dispensing a liquid, the applicator dispenser comprising a squeezeable body portion (11) having an open neck (17) at one end thereof, a brush (12) having a shank, a plurality of bristles (23) mounted at one end of the shank, and a passageway (30) leading from said bristles (23) at one end of the shank to an opening at the opposite end of the shank, and a cap (13) to enclose the exposed end of the shank, characterised in that the shank of said brush (12) includes a flange (27) to abut the neck (17) and so limit the penetration of the shank into the neck (17), and a bulbous portion (28) for releasably and engageably fitting into said neck (17), and in that said cap (13) is so profiled that in one position it can screw threadedly engage the neck (17) or the shank to bring the cap (13) into sealing engagement with a profiled portion (26) of the shank located in a position between the point of screwthreaded engagement and the bristles (23) whereby to provide a fluid tight seal to a chamber (22) defined between a portion of the brush (12) projecting from the neck (17) and the interior of the cap (13) and in another position it can frictionally engage the body portion (11) at an end remote from the neck (17) to extend the length of the body portion (11).

2. An applicator according to Claim 1 wherein the end of the shank in which said opening is located includes a slot (31, 32) transversing said passageway (30) and extending substantially at right angles thereto.

3. An applicator according to Claim 1 or to Claim 2 wherein said body portion (11) includes a shoulder (21') against which said cap (13) can abut when in said one position to provide a fluid tight seal between the cap (13) and the body portion (11).

4. An applicator according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the bristles (23) surround the passageway (30) where it emerges from said one end of said shank.

5. An applicator according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein said bristles (41) are partially accommodated within the passageway (39) and wherein the passageway (39) includes a spiral (40) extending around said bristles (41) to allow the flow of liquid past said bristles (41).

6. An applicator according to any preceding claim wherein said profiled portion (26) of the shank is compatible with the bulbous portion (28) whereby to allow said shank to be accommodated between the neck (17) and the cap (13) in an inverted attitude.

7. An applicator according to Claim 6 wherein said profiled portion (26) is sized to form a frictionally secured fit with said neck (17).